One of the advantages of the internet is that each record is available. Just search for No New York or Geva Geva in Ebay or GEMM and a week later that “rare” bootleg will drop in your mail box. That feeling of finally obtaining something elusive has shortened from a lifetime to ten minutes. The day I dreamt of that pre-Fleetwood Mac BuckinghamNicks record finished when I got a DSL connection: I could download it from Soulseek before I could say “lost classic.” So I had to adapt, I had to reconsider what a lost classic is. The positive thing is that you’ll always be able to find every Boredoms side project in existence. The bad side is that Ashlee Simpson won’t disappear – you’ll bump into her record occasionally, when you open someone’s MP3 folder or think you’re downloading that Superpitcher remix.
But then there’s also the lost MP3 classic. The internet made it possible to (usually accidently) discover gems on blogs, obscure sites – click a million times and you’ll never find that Russian nerd’s homepage again – and Soulseek. I still remember hearing Res’ Golden Boys for the first time. It was as much to do with the right moment in time – I had just read Barthes so anything remotely meta hit me in the right places – but also, otherwise it wouldn’t be a classic, its innate goodness. “Golden Boys” is a warning for everyone, including the singer. Maybe that’s why Res never really hit it big? She warns about the yearning for stardom. As much as you may dream of being a Golden Boy, you’ll soon discover that all is not what it seems. Stardom doesn’t erase insecurity – something Robbie Williams exploits as much as suffers from. I love how Res snarls the words and then suddenly her voice soothes. It’s tough love she’s giving you/herself. So I guess, I shouldn’t have expected anything differently: the public demands that you beg for love. She was much too self-aware of the pitfalls of success, she didn’t really seem to need it so much. Res was my lost classic about three years ago. My next guess is Estelle, dubbed the new Miss Dynamite, who just released “Free.” The single’s message is basically put a smile on your face and you’ll soon be happy. So why does she need success?
Actually what is a lost classic these days? With forums, blogs and online magazines, you’ll always be able to find a scene where a particular record is well-known. Or what about the radio? Max Sedgley’s Happy seems to be the only thing that my local radio plays these days. Next week he’ll be replaced by something else, forever lost. Or what about losing your personal favourite/classic when your friend rummages through your record collection? Does it make you happy or do you regret losing that record? Enjoying Beyonce with a million others is one thing,but sharing No New York with others has never really appealed to me. It’s difficult to even play the record when someone’s in the same room. What can I say, I’m an egotistical bitch who doesn’t want to share her personal classics.